Genealogy Chat

I've just realised this has all been done before.

Previous thread of Karen's about Horace:

https://www.genesreunited.com.au/boards/board/genealogy_chat/thread/1367074

In that thread I suggested this marriage as maybe being Elizabeth's:

Marriages Dec 1889 (>99%)
MITCHELL George Croydon 2a 512
VERDEN Elizabeth Croydon 2a 512

and followed through with the family in 1891 and 1901 - including a Horace Reginald Mitchell born 1886 in (per 1901 census) or 1889 (per 1891).

Looking at it all again now, I feel sure this is the right family.
I won't copy all the censuses and other records here - they're all on the other thread.

There's no matching birth record of a Horace Reginald Mitchell.

I don't see any of the family in 1911 (apart from "our" Horace who has returned to his birth surname).
The daughter Elizabeth Harriet is in a home in Croydon in 1939, detained under the Lunacy Act - record is on other thread.

In 1901 Horace Mitchell is a "van guard / carter [some word I can't make out] ", and in 1911 Horace Vardi is a "carter on general carriers".



Elizabeth in 1881 ?? Domestic servant at Croydon Workhouse Infirmary

Elizabeth Verdon
in the 1881 England Census
Name: Elizabeth Verdon
Age: 17
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1864
Relationship to Head: Pauper
Gender: Female
Where born: Mitcham, Surrey, England
Civil Parish: Croydon
County/Island: Surrey
Country: England
Street address: "Workhouse and Infirmary" Queens Road
Occupation: Dom Servant
Registration district: Croydon
ED, institution, or vessel: Workhouse and Infirmary
Neighbors:
Piece: 825
Folio: 116
Page Number: 22

Oh, Rats.

Thank-you, ArgyllGran

Possibly George in 1881 in the same workhouse ??


George Mitchell
in the 1881 England Census
Name: George Mitchell [ unmarried ]
Age: 20
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1861
Relationship to Head: Pauper
Gender: Male
Where born: Croydon, Surrey, England
Civil Parish: Croydon
County/Island: Surrey
Country: England
Street address: "Queens Rd Duppas Hill Workhouse and Infirmary"
Occupation: Agr Labr
Registration district: Croydon
ED, institution, or vessel: Workhouse and Infirmary
Neighbors:
Piece: 825
Folio: 113
Page Number: 15

Another child , who died:

MITCHELL, CHARLES HENRY mms VERDEN
GRO Reference: 1892 M Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 2



MITCHELL, CHARLES HENRY 0
GRO Reference: 1892 M Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 3

And more (as well as some on the other thread):


Births -

MITCHELL, DAVID JOHN VERDON
GRO Reference: 1900 J Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 17

MITCHELL, ERNEST OLIVER VERDEN
GRO Reference: 1897 D Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 7


Deaths:

MITCHELL, DAVID JOHN 0
GRO Reference: 1901 M Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 13

MITCHELL, ERNEST OLIVER 0
GRO Reference: 1898 S Quarter in EPSOM Volume 02A Page 10

So just to confirm patchem, do you think it would help if I got Horace R Vardi's marriage certificate?

It's impossible to say if the marriage cert would help or not, Karen.
It's up to you to decide if you think it's worth the gamble.

If his father was unknown, there MIGHT be something about his mother.
Or it might say his father was George Mitchell, as George appears to have brought him up from toddlerhood.
It may be that George actually was his father, but there's no way of proving that.

I very much appreciate your help ArgyllGran.
Please excuse my naivety but how do you get from Elizabeth Vardy to Elizabeth Verdon?

Also, can I search for workhouse records online?

Vardy seems just to have been a variation of Verdon - maybe a mis-hearing or assumption of the spelling of the name by the registrar.

Who registered Horace's birth? Was it Elizabeth herself, or someone such as the workhouse superintendent?

Re searching workhouse records, just Google "Croydon workhouse".
This link:

http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Croydon/

Scroll right down to the bottom for info re what records are held and where.
Apparently they include records of admissions and discharges 1903-31.

Not searchable online at home, though.

"These collections can then be viewed by appointment, at the Museum of Croydon Research Room. To request to see material from our archive collections, please contact us at [email protected] providing details of your enquiry and the reference number of the collection(s) of interest."
http://www.museumofcroydon.com/ixbin/indexplus?record=ART8699